KuCoin Responds to US Criminal Charges

After facing criminal and civil charges from US prosecutors and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on March 26, crypto exchange KuCoin, rushed to reassure its users that their funds are safe.

The platform stated, “KuCoin is operating well, and the assets of our users are absolutely safe. We are aware of the related reports and are currently investigating the details through our lawyers. KuCoin respect the laws and regulations of various countries and strictly adheres to compliance standards.”

However, KuCoin's original currency, KuCoin Shares (KCS), witnessed a 12% decrease in its value over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $12.3.

According to prosecutors, despite significant operations by KuCoin within the United States, the exchange failed to register with the CFTC or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a licensed money transmitter.

Additionally, the exchange registered American users without obtaining the necessary licenses, constituting over 18% of its users in 2018.

Moreover, the Southern District Court in New York levied criminal charges against KuCoin's Chinese founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, for allegations related to operating an unlicensed money transfer entity and "conspiring to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by not maintaining an adequate anti-money laundering program."